Mo may sit to heal injuries
The Jets have considered sitting Muhammad Wilkerson for a game to help him heal his shoulder and toe injuries, Todd Bowles said Friday. “There’s been a thought. We discuss it day by day and week by week and go from there,” Bowles said. “But we don’t make anybody play that doesn’t want to play.”
Wilkerson missed practice for the third straight day Friday and is officially questionable for Sunday’s game in Miami. He’s been battling a Grade 1 AC joint sprain since a Week 2 loss at the Raiders, and he injured his toe two weeks ago in Cleveland. Bowles has said both injuries are impacting the defensive lineman equally.
Wilkerson is still without a sack through six games this season. He hasn’t practiced fully since before the Oakland game.
“It’s been good enough to play on Sunday thus far,” Bowles said of the injuries. “We’ll see this Sunday. We’ll go from there.”
Wilkerson has largely been a disappointment since signing an $86 million extension before the 2016 season. Last year, he battled lingering effects of offseason surgery to mend a broken leg he suffered in the 2015 finale. He made it through just one game this year before confronting another injury.
“It’s football,” Bowles said. “You can ask everybody in the league, and everybody is battling something. Some can play with them, some can’t. If you can play, there’s not excuses. If you can’t, you got an excuse.”
JORDAN RULED OUT
Tight end Jordan Leggett aggravated his right knee injury and is the only Jet who’s been ruled out for Sunday’s game. Leggett’s knee swelled up after practice Thursday night, according to Bowles. He is undergoing tests.
Bowles said the setback didn’t happen on any single play in practice.
“It just reacted,” Bowles said of Leggett’s knee. Leggett missed the first four games of the season because of the knee injury, which he sustained in the final preseason game. He was active for the win over the Browns but didn’t play an offensive snap. He was then inactive for last week’s loss to the Patriots. Bowles said he doesn’t know if the injury could be season-ending.
IT’S A GAS, GAS, GAS
In New Orleans earlier this week, Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro pulled a gas mask out of his locker when reporters started complimenting the team’s revamped defense.
“In case y’all gas me up, I brought the gas mask,” Vaccaro said. “We just knew what the clippings were gonna say. We knew what questions y’all were gonna ask. . .We’re not believing no clippings, nothing. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Jets inside linebacker Darron Lee gave Vaccaro a shout-out Friday in Florham Park while relaying a similar message.
“I still think there’s a lot of stuff we need to tweak as a defense so we can all be clicking on all cylinders and so that everybody’s making plays. I would say it’s a work in progress,” Lee said. “I need to talk to Kenny Vaccaro. I need to get my gas mask. I’m not finna let y’all gas me up. Nah. I still got work to do.”